Combination turbine and muffler.



( 'PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906.

G. E. FULTON. COMBINATION TURBINE AND MUFFLER. 1

APPLICATION FILED HAR.9,1906.

lNl/ENTOH eoryelj $72 6 2? 4 Tron/ms WITNESSES GEORGE E. FULTON, OFJERSEY GIT Y, NEW JERSEY.

COMBINATION TURBINE AND MUFFLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1906.

Application filed March 9, 1906. Serial No. 305,039,

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. FULTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at J ersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in CombinationTurbine-Motors and Mufflers, of which the following is a specification,such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to pressure-fluid engines, and particularly to animprovement in mufflers, which forma part thereof and which are appliedto the exhaustpipe of such pressure-fluid engines; and the object ofmy'invention is to utilize a certain percentage of heat units containedin the exhaust-gases for motive purposes, a further object being toprovide in combination herewith an efficient muffler for theexhaust-gases of a pressurefiuid engine to which my invention isapplied; and with these and other objects in view the invention consistsin a combined turbinemotor and mufiier of the class specified,constructed as hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, ofwhich the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate partsof my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters ineach of the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a cross-section of myimproved apparatus on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2 looking in t e direction ofthe arrow as. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 represents a cross-section on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2 looking inthe direction of the arrow y; Fig. 4, a partial section on the line 4 4of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a side view of a four-cylinder pressure-fluidengine with my combined turbine-motor and muffler attached to theexhaust-pipe of the same.

In my improved muffler I unite the muffling features with a turbine setin motion by the combined action of steam and gas under pressure. Thesteam as a motive power is generated within the muffler, one portion ofwhich serves as a flash-boiler supplied with water from a tank or pumpunder pressure. The heat necessary to operate the flashboiler is derivedfrom a part of the exhaustgases which pass through the muffler, and thesteam thus generated is made to impinge against the blades of theWell-known device, a turbine-motor. This motor, running in bearings,forms a part of the mufiiing apparatus, and the turbine itself isalsoplaced within said muffler. Another part of the heat of the escapingexhaust from the main pressure-fluid engine is made use of to expand toa lower stage within the inufller and is then admitted to the blades ofthe turbine-motor to assist the. steam heretofore mentioned andgenerated within the muffler to rotate the turbine-wheel by alsoimpinging against the blades of the same. After this combined motivepower, which heretofore has been wasted by exhausting directly into theouter air, has given up a certain percentage of its heat unitstransferred into motive power, the same is exhausted under nearlyatmospheric pressure into the outer air.

As illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. my combined motor and mufflera is attached to the exhaust-pipe b of the four-cylinder pressure-fluidengine 0. The power generated within my apparatus, as shown in thedrawings, is transmitted by means of a belt d and the pulley (1,attached to the shaft d of the turbine-motor, to the pulley 61, attachedto a shaft (1 for the purposeof running a fan, which may be used in thisinstance for the purpose of air-cooling the jackets of the main 0linders of the engine 0. It is obvious that t e power thus generated bymeans of my apparatus may, by means of proper transmission, be made useof to assist the main engines driving the main shaft of the same forrunning the dynamo of the electric sparking device, &c.

The apparatus proper consists of the following features, which consistof an outer circular side plate e, provided with a boss e,

which is provided with an internal screw-' thread, to which can beattached the exhaustpipe b of the main pressure-fluid engine. Anothercircular side plate e corresponding in size, shape, and dimensions tothe former side plate e, is also provided with an internal thread edboss e to which an atmospheric escape-pipe can be attached. These twocircular side plates e and e are bolted to an annular casing-ring, whichis composed of two integral parts f and f the outer ring f havinginwardly-extending corrugations j, while the inner ring f hasoutwardly-extending corrugations f These rings are placed concentricallywith each other, leaving at their corrugated joint an air-space j, whichextends circumferential, as well as transversely.

A number of circular partition-plates g, h, i, k, and l and circularwashers m, n, and 0,

all conforming in diameter with the outer casing-ring f and the sideplates 0 and e and having a corrugated open space correspond.- ing tothe air-space f above mentioned, are joined together with theabove-named side plates e and e and the casing-ringsf and f by means ofthe bolts p, which pass transversely through these plates an 1 rings,"as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the crawings, and when arranged in themanner inzicatei in said figure they form a closed. circular mufilingdevice, with two large compartments g and 1' and three smallcompartments s,s, and's The outer side plate e is also provided with anoutwardly-extending boss 0*, to which is attached a pipe, which isadapted to be connected with a tank or pump bringing water underpressure, if so desired, into the interior of the narrow air-spaces swithinthe.

mufliing device, which air-spaces, as illustrated in the drawings, arecontiguous to and interconnected with each other.

Placed within the larger chamber g is a worm of copper tubes q of one ora number of series of convolutions. I One terminal of this worm connectsat g with the steamchamber 8, which latter is formed by the cir cularpartition-plates t and 7c and the intervening washer n, while the otherterminal 'of said worm g" connects with the same steamchamber 3' at 9 Bythis means the interior of the copper worm g, .the chamber 8, thecircumferential corrugated space f, the chambers s and 0 respectively,formed by the outer end plates e and'e and the partition-plates g and Z,and

washers m and 0 form one closed chamber,

which is the flash-boiler proper, to which water can be admitted bymeans of the pipe e and from which steam can be generated within thesame, and said steam finds its exit by means of two steam-ports u and.11., located in'the partition-plate k. The tubes q are expand therein,give up a part of their heat to the adjoining partition-walls g and 'i,and

' thereby perform the functions of this part of the flash-boiler. Aseries of outlet-ports v, as shown in Fig. 3, are located in thepartition-wall 'i, said outlet-ports '0 being placed, as are also thesteam ports u and a, radially to the axis of the apparatus and connectedwith the larger hot-air chamber q, as shown in Fig. '4, and anindividual washer 1), pro vided with a corresponding opening, beingplacedwithin the steam-chamber s in order to cut off the communicationtherewith and to permit of the exit of the gases from the 'the coppertubes q and will then exhaust into the outer air under nearlyatmospheric pressure, thereby serving the combined purposes of asound-muffler to the main pressure-fluid engine to which my apparatushas been. at tached, as well as generating steam for secondary motivepurposes and also serving direct as a motive power.

The turbine-motor shaft 10 is mounted in ball-bearings W, as shown inFig. 2 of the drawings; butthese bearings may be of the usual form ofplain bearings, and they are bolted to the end. plates e and e and form,with the shaft w, the axis of the motor or muffling device. Aturbine-wheel w, having the usual radial blades w is placed between thetwo concentric band-supports w and co the latter being supported by thecentral web member w, which in turn is attached to the shaft w by meansof lock-nuts, setscrews, or keys.

The blades to of the turbine-motor receive the impact ofthe steamissuing from the steam-ports u and '11., as well as from the gasports1), which will cause'the same to be rotated in the manner ofimpact-engines.

I00 It will thus be seen that by means of my' combined motor andmufliing device motive power is generated from the exhaust of anyressure-fluid engine to which the same may e attached and that my devicealso acts as I a mufller by reducing the exhaust pressure fluid to alower stage before expanding the same into the outer air.

Having fully described my invention, what i I claim as new, and desireto secure by Let.- ters Patent, is

1. A combined turbine-motor and muffling device for pressure-fluidengines and op- 3. A combined turbine-motor and muffling device 0 eratedby making use of the heat containe in the exhaust fluid of apressure-fluid engine .to which this device has been attached, the heat.of said exhaust being utilized .to generate steam in a boilervcontainedwithin the device, such steamserving to generate motive power by itsimpact against the blades of a turbine-motor which also forms part ofthe device, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a turbine-motor and mufilin device, a casing containing aflash-boiler w 'ch can be provided withwater for steam-generating lpurposes, a turbine-motor set into operation bymeans of the impact ofsteam obtained from the flash-boiler and also operated by 5.

means of the impact of the entering exhaust fluid of any pressure-fluidengine-to which said device is attached, said exhaust fluid enteringsaid device serving also to impart its heat to the generation of steamin the aforesaid flash-boiler, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a turbinemotor and muffling device,

' means for employing the impact force of the exhaust fluid taken from apressure-fluid engine to which the same is attached combined with meansfor employing the impact force of.

steam generated by the heat of said exhaust fluid, such combined impactforces to be directed against the blades of a turbine-motor which formsa part of the combined turbinemotor and mufliingdevice, substantially asshown and described.

6. In aturbine-motor and muifling device,

- means for employing the impact force of the exhaust fluid taken from apressure-fluid engine to which the same "is attached combined with meansfor employing the impact force of steam generated 'by the heat of saidexhaust fluid, such combined impact forces to be directed against theblades of a-turbine-motor which forms a part of the combinedturbinemotor and mufliing device, the shaft of the fluid is reduced to alower stage an expanded into'the atmosphere at a eatly-reduced pressure,substantially as s own and described.

8. A combination turbine-motor and muffler having a casing provided witha series of compartments, one com artment of which serves'in conjunctionwit a coil of tubes as a steam-generatin boiler supplied with water andheated by t e entering exhaust fluid of an attached pressure-fluidengine, and one or more additional compartments for the reception ofsaid entering exhaust fluid for the purpose of reducing its pressure andalso to impart some of its heat to the walls of its adjoiningcompartments, a turbine-motor having a shaft and ower-transmittingdevice and mounted wit 'n the ap aratus and receiving the direct impactof t e exhaust fluid and the direct impact of the steam generated withinthe ap aratus, substantially as shown and described In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presenceof the subscribing witnesses, this 7th day of March, 1906.

GEORGE E. FULTON.

Witnesses F. A. STEWART, C. J. KLEIN;

